Caught On A Feeling
by LittleMsGleek
Summary: Lea & Theo are together but will her new found feelings for her cast mate, Cory, change everything completely?
1. The Kiss

As the director yelled cut, Lea and Cory separated and their hair and makeup stylists came in and fixed them up. They had been doing this scene for about 2 hours now and it was verging on 11pm. Everyone was getting a bit tired, except Lea.

'Okay kids, let's take it from the top and this time, it's the final time that we'll be doing this scene'

It was at this point in time that Lea knew what she had to do.

The two of them took their places on stage and the music began. They sang 'Pretending', and just like all the times before, it was perfect. Then it was time for the kiss, the part that Lea enjoyed the most. Singing and looking at each other intensely, they lent into each other and kissed. This time Lea put her heart and soul into that kiss. Everything she felt for Cory was expressed through her lips that were currently hardly pressed against his.

After they finished shooting the scene, Lea went and grabbed a bottle of water and sat down. She was stressing herself out a bit because her mind was going a million miles and hour. She wondered if Cory would notice a difference in the kiss and say something to her.

Lea was now back at her hotel room. Filming Glee in New York was a dream come true for her as it put two of her favourite things together. Tomorrow was there day off and she was excited to show her other cast members where she grew up.

As she went to unlock the hotel door she noticed that it was already unlocked. She opened the door and there sitting on the couch was her best friend, Jonathan.

_'How on earth did you beat me here?'_

_'Oh, you know me... I have my secrets'_ he smiled at her and stood up.

_'So, Lee... that kiss. Looked extra steamy from where I was sitting'_ Lea started to turn red.

_'I- I have no Idea what you're talking about. It was just the same as the other 15 times that we did it. There's nothing going on between me & Cory at all!'_ she put her bag on the kitchen bench.

_'Umm, I didn't say that there was something going on between you two. I know you are loyal and that you would never cheat on Theo. But I am your best friend and I know when you do something different. Even if it is just kissing someone with a bit more passion'_

Lea breathed in and out loudly.

_'I think I'm in love him, Jon. I really think I do. I mean, I do love Theo but I'm just not __in__ love with him. I hardly ever get to see him because of Glee and when I get time off, I always want to see my family and not him.'_ Jon stood there with his mouth open and eyes widened.

_I knew it! Oh Lea! How long did you think it would take for me to find this out, huh?'_

_'Oh please, Jon. Stop it! I'm so confused! I don't know what I'm going to do!_' She started to breathe faster and faster. Jon sat her down and then sat next to her, putting his arm around her.

_'Calm down Lee, you're starting to hyperventilate'_ He grabbed her hand and rubbed it. She was shaking uncontrollably.

_'I- I'm sorry! I'm sorry I brought you into this horrible mess my heart has created'_ Tears were starting to well up in her brown eyes. Usually she was so strong but when she talked about her feelings for Cory, her walls just seemed to crumble down around her.

_'Maybe I should tell Cory first and then tell Theo. He is coming to see me in a couple of weeks and that will give me some time to think of what I'll say to him'_

Jonathan gave her a reassuring look then hugged her tightly and kissed her head.

_'That sounds like a plan, babe'_


	2. Boys Night

Cory sat in the hotel room. His mind was swimming but he had no idea why. Then out of nowhere, Lea popped into his head. He admired her so much because she had grown up singing but he just use to sing in the shower. She was so strong willed and beautiful and he felt lucky to work with her every day.

All of a sudden, his phone went off. It was a text from Lea, like she somehow knew that he was thinking about her.

**Hey, want to go out and grab a bite to eat for dinner tomorrow night? Lea ox**

He smiled to himself and started to text her back. Once again she was blowing his mind, so he thought he would try something a little out of his comfort zone.

**Sure thing, where were you thinking? Maybe a picnic?**

He hesitated to hit the send button but then just closed his eyes and pressed it.

He went to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. What if he made her uncomfortable and freaked her out? They were just friends and he had invited her out on a picnic. He didn't want her to think that he wanted to get into her pants, or did he? He knew that she was with Theo and he would never try to ruin someone else's relationship. He just wasn't that type of guy.

He turned the tap and took a hand a handful of water and splashed it onto his face. Suddenly his phone went off. He was scared to look at it in case she had changed her mind about seeing him.

**Aw that's so sweet Cory. I'd love to! I'll come down to your hotel room 8:00 & we can go together?**

'Yes!' He yelled to himself in delight. He was so excited that it was hard for him to text back because his hands were shaking.

**Sounds awesome :)**

All of a sudden there was a knock at his door.

'Hey man, ya decent?'

'Yeah! Come in'

Chord and Mark walked in with a stack of pizzas.

'We thought that since tomorrow is our day off, we could stay up late and relax a bit?'

Cory nodded with a smile on his face.

'Sure, as long as there is beer with that pizza!'

Mark pulled a two six packs out his backpack and snapped out one and handed it to Cory.

"Wow, dude. You seem extra pumped for some reason. I mean, more than usual. You are just… hyper. Should I open the wardrobe and see if ya snuck someone in here?' He playfully elbowed him in the arm.

'Nah!' There's no chance of that happening'

'So… what gives? I'm not giving you any pizza until you fess up!'

Lea didn't tell him not to tell any of the other guys about their 'date'. So it couldn't hurt. Could it?

'Well…' he paused and swallowed.

'Tomorrow night, I'm going on a picnic….'

'Oh man!' Chord yelled.

'Who is she? Where did you meet her?'

'Well… you guys know her. Very well actually.

'Hah! Condy!'

Mark punched Chord in the arm.

'No mom jokes, man!'

'Guys, stop it… It's Lea! I'm going on a picnic with Lea'

Cory breathed a sigh of relief. For some reason, telling other people made him look forward to this night out a lot more.

'Hasn't she got a boyfriend? Leo?'

'Yes, Chord & his name is Theo. Look, I'm not going on a 'date' date with her. Just a friends date and it was her idea in the first place.

'A friends date? Are you serious? They don't really exist, Cory. I reckon that she has a thing for you!'

Cory stood there and took a mouthful of his beer. Why would Lea like him? She loved Theo, didn't she? He was so confused by this 'date' now. If Lea did really like him, he had to figure out quick smart if he felt the same way…


	3. Coffee Break

Dianna picked up her pillow and thumped it next to Lea's head. She jumped up off her pillow and saw Dianna giggling to herself.

"_Hey! What are you doing cheeky lady?'_

Dianna handed her phone to her.

'_For God's sake, check your phone! You got a text at like 4am and it's been beeping ever since'_

'_Awww, I'm sorry Di'_ she got out of bed and hugged her.

'_Did you have a nice sleep though, even though my phone was going off?'_

'_Yeah, it wasn't too bad. It was a bit hot. Hotel rooms are always too hot'_

'_You got that right! Give me a sec to get dressed and we can go down to a cafe nearby and get a coffee'_

Lea looked at her phone. It was a text from Cory. It was unusual for him to text before 8 am because he was very fond of his sleep.

**Hey. Sorry if this woke you up but I just wanted to let u know that I'm looking forward to seeing u 2night :) xx**

She smiled to herself. She loved random text messages. When she first started dating Theo, he used to text her every morning. That ended about 6 months into their relationship so it was nice that Cory, that guy she had was falling for, was doing the same thing.

**No you didn't wake me, just Dianna :P I'm looking forward to it too xx**

Lea got dressed and brushed her hair. She couldn't start the day properly without a nice big cup of coffee. It was one of her biggest weaknesses.

'_Come on my gorgeous lady, I need my caffeine kick. Chop, chop!'_ Dianna emerged from her room and hurried to catch up to Lea, who was waiting at the door for her.

They both got into the elevator and Lea's phone beeped.

'_Maybe it's from Cory or one of the other guys. They might want us to meet them somewhere so you can show us all the sights!'_

Lea fumbled for her phone in her bag. She found it and read the text. Dianna was right, it was from Cory but it wasn't great news.

**Hey Lee. I'm really sorry but me & the guys are going to the go kart track at Mt. Kisco. We're still up for 2night though, I hope? :)**

Lea was a little disappointed but the fact that she still got to see Cory tonight made her feel a lot better.

'_You were right, Di. I was Cory but he's taking the guys go karting. We might just have to have girl's day!'_

Dianna clapped her hands in delight.

'_Oh goodie! I'm going to text Naya, Heather and the other girls right now.'_

Lea and Dianna were walking along and all of a sudden Lea grabbed Dianna's arm.

'_Stop! I love this café! They have really great cappuccinos.'_ Dianna smiled and nodded at her.

'_Do you want one, bub? Or just a chai latte?'_

'_Chai please'_

Lea went and placed their orders and then took her seat across from Dianna.

'_So… How's everything with Theo going? You don't really talk about him anymore?'_

Lea brushed her fringe out her eyes and looked away from Dianna for a split second.

'_What's wrong, darling? Something is up with you. Please tell me…' _She stroked Lea's arm gently, her reassuring eyes making her more nervous for some reason.

'_I'm not sure that I'm in love with him anymore…_'

The waiter came over and served them their drinks.

'_Thank you'_ Lea grabbed her coffee and took a big mouthful.

'_Guh! Hot!'_ she swallowed it down hesitantly and looked at Dianna with puppy dog eyes.

'_Ouch! Oh I'm stupid. My mind is such a mess at the moment. Trying to figure out what I want is stressing me out…'_

'_Calm down, sweetheart. Everything will be okay. Why don't you love him? I thought everything was going great? There isn't anyone else, is there_?'

Lea paused and took another mouthful of her coffee.

'_A-ah no… there is no one else. Just him…'_ She felt weird lying to Dianna. She was like a sister to her but she knew that she couldn't let any of the other guys know. It might ruin everything.

'_Nearly done, Lee? Naya just texted me back and asked if we could me them at Central Park'_

Lea looked at her and smiled.

'_Sure am, Di'_


	4. NYC

Lea & Dianna took a cab to Central Park to meet up with Naya and the girls. They spent the morning walking around Central Park, soaking up everything. Lea felt like a little girl in a candy shop, walking around the park with the biggest smile on her face.

_'Look at you!'_ Heather exclaimed. Lea laughed in delight.

_'I- I just can't help but smile when I'm here! This place is so amazing. It really is the place where dreams are made of!'_

In the afternoon, Lea took them all to the Empire State building observation deck to get a bird's eye view of the city she loved. The noise, the dirt, the smell, the crazy people, she loved every single thing about New York.

Amidst all the excitement, Lea had lost track of time. She still had to get back to the hotel to meet Cory at 8 o'clock for their picnic. She looked down at her watch and it said 5.33. She hadn't told any of the girls about her date with Cory and she wasn't planning on telling them, so she had to think of an excuse to go back to their hotel.

_'Hey ummm, Di?'_

_'Yeah girl, what's up?'_ Dianna gave her a cheesy smile and patted her head.

'I need to go back to the hotel room; I think I left my hair curler on'

_'No you don't, gorgeous! People get paid to check that stuff when they clean the rooms'_

Lea tried not to get angry at herself that her plan wasn't working.

_'E-eh, I know but I insist on going back to check. You guys will be fine. Just grab a cab when you go out the front and tell the cabbie the address of our hotel'_ she lent in and kissed her cheek quickly and ran like a flash to the elevator.

Amber came up to Dianna; a confused look overwhelmed her face.

_'Where the hell did she go?'_

_'To check her hair curler…'_ They all laughed.


	5. The Confession

She rummaged through her suit case for something nice to wear. She didn't want to over dress and she didn't want to underdress. It was something that she had to get right. Not that Cory would notice anyway, it was just for her piece of mind. She finally figured out what to wear and got dressed. She had already packed a little picnic basket to take with her. She had some dips and cheeses with crackers and sour dough bread, stuffed olives, vegetables quiches, chocolate mousse and last but no lest, cosmos cocktails! She doubled checked everything before she left. She was so nervous that something bad that was going to happen. Finally, she took a big breath, grabbed her handbag and picnic basket and left her room.

Cory shut his hotel door behind him and turned to walk down the hall. He saw Lea, a big beautiful smile on her face as she waved hello at him. She looked so amazing and beautiful and it was hard for Cory to contain his excitement.

'Hey! Wow, you look so p-pretty!' He hugged her quickly.

'Aw thank you! You look nice too'

They got in the elevator and took it down to the ground floor. When they got out the front of the hotel, Lea called for a cab. They finally got one and she gave the cabbie an address to drive too.

'So, where are we going for this picnic?' Lea grinned at him.

'It's a surprise!' The cab driver pulled over next to a small park.

'That'll be $10.60, thanks' Lea pulled out her wallet but Cory stopped her.

'It's okay, I've got this'

The both walked into the park. There were a few picnic table scattered around but Lea picked one that was surrounded by beautiful trees and lights.

'This is really nice, Lee. I'm glad we could do this' he took his backpack off and too out some sandwiches that were cut into tiny triangles.

'Aw Cory, you didn't have to bring anything'

'I know, but I kind of felt useless' Lea laughed at him and stoked his arm.

'Shall we?' They sat down and Lea laid out all the food on the picnic table. She pulled some cups out and the bottle of cosmos.

'Oh my god, the cups that looks like aero plane cups. This is great! That isn't what I think it is, is it?' Lea smiled and nodded.

'Yep! Virgin cosmos, minus the virgin' 'Wow, this is amazing. Thank you so much' he kissed her cheek quickly.

They paused for a moment, Lea looking deep into his eyes. They were so close that they could feel each other's breath on their face. She lent in hesitantly and kissed Cory's lips. She could feel them tremble a little and then he pulled away.

'L-Lea… I don't understand. I thought that this was just supposed to be a nice dinner between friends?' Lea shook her head and looked away.

'Don't you feel anything, Cory? For so long I have felt these immense feelings for you but I just haven't been able to express them properly. Can you honestly tell me that you feel nothing for me?'

'I-I don't know… you're with Theo and I'm not into breaking peoples relationships up'

'So, you do feel something for me?' Cory brushed his hand against her cheek.

'Lea, I do but I respect Theo too much to go behind his back'.

'I k-know… it's okay. That's very noble of you'. They both enjoyed the rest of their night together. Eating delicious food and telling stories of their upbringing.

Finally, they got back to the hotel. Cory escorted lea to her room.

'Good night, Lea. Thank you for tonight'

'It was my pleasure' she leant into kiss him but he avoided her lips and kissed her forehead. She sighed and looked at her watch. It was 12:30 in the morning and she knew that Dianna would still be up, waiting for an explanation.


	6. Fly Away

Dianna had stayed up and waited for Lea and she wasn't too impressed either.

'_Where were you missy? I tried calling you so many times!'_

'_I- I was with… Jon. Yeah, we went to see a movie together. I'm sorry, I had my phone turned off'_ Dianna's frown got deeper as she stood there, looking intensely at Lea.

'_Don't lie to me! I know that you weren't with Jon because h__e rang me looking for you. Then Harry rang me to see if I had seen Cory. How stupid do you think I am?'_

Lea went red.

'_D- Di I__...'_

'_You're what, Lea? Sorry that you lied to me about sneaking out to go on a date with Cory and not telling anyone? What if something had happened to you and we didn't know where you where to help you?'_

Tears started to run down Dianna's face. Lea pulled her in and wrapped her arms tightly around her.

'_Yes, I am very sorry for not telling you. Of course I am but I was worried that if everyone found it, that someone might tell Theo__...'_

Dianna looked at her dead in the eyes

'_I would never tell Theo anything. You're like me sister, Lee. I love you and would never go behind your back. That goes for everyone else too. We're family.'_

'_Thank you, gorgeous. That really means a lot to me. Now let's go to bed! It's 1am and we have a flight to catch tomorrow'._

They all caught a flight back to L.A. at around lunch time the next day. Dianna swapped her seat with Cory so that he could sit next to Lea.

Lea texted Cory about what Dianna had told her last night about no one telling Theo about them.

Cory looked at his phone and smiled. He put his hand out and Lea did the same. He took her hand in his and held it tightly. Dianna walked behind Lea and kissed her head.

'_I'm glad you guys listened to me'_

'_So am I'_ Cory smiled at Lea and blew her a kiss


	7. Two's Company, Three's a Crowd

It was late spring, and Lea was basking in the morning sun at her L.A apartment. Suddenly her phone rang, it was Jon.

'_Hello?'_

'_Morning Lea darling, how are you?'_

'_I'm good thank you. I'm going out soon to that juice bar on Melrose Ave. I'm meeting up with Cory'_

There was an awkward silence.

'_Have you told Theo yet, Lee?'_

'_Eh no.. I haven't. Not yet anyway. I will though, I promise'_

'_I hope so, he is good to you, Lea & he doesn't deserve to be hurt'_

'_I know, please don't lecture me about this. I know that you're just trying to help but I'm a big girl'_

'_I'm sorry… I'm just trying to look out for you. You should know that'_

'_I do, Jon, I do and I love you for it. Umm, I'm going to go now, okay? I'll speak to you later'_

'_Okay, hun. Have fun, bye'_

'_Bye, Jon'_

Lea hung up and put her phone on silent, just in case he wanted to ring back later and pester her about telling Theo.

She made it down to the juice bar without Jon calling her back. She saw Cory sitting out the front, his sun glasses on while he read the paper.

'_Cory'_ she yelled out, as she crossed the road. Cory got up from his seat and ran to the curb. When Lea got there he threw his arms around her.

'_Hey! I'm glad you could make it. I ordered you a pineapple and apple juice, is that okay_?'

Lea smiled at him.

'_Of course it is!_' Lea felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She took it out and saw that it was Jonathan again. She ignored it.

'_Anyone important? You can answer it, ya know'_

'_No, it's okay. It was just Jon, I'll call him back later'_

A waitress brought their juices over to them & as soon as she looked at Lea, her eyes lit up instantly.

'_Y-You're L- Lea Michele.. Oh my God..' _

Lea laughed at the star struck waitress.

'_Yes, I am! What's your name, sweetheart?'_

'_A- Anna, my name is Anna but my friends call me Annie'_

Lea pulled out a pad of paper and a black texted from her handbag. She wrote _**Dear Annie, Don't stop believing**_ and signed her name at the bottom.

'_Here you go, Annie. It was lovely to meet you'_

'_Thank you so much!'_

Cory stroked Lea's hand.

'_You certainly are popular, aren't you? I don't even think she realized who I was because she was so focused on you'_

'_It's amazing! I love my fans; they're so devoted that sometimes it's scary'_

All of a sudden, the peace was broken. Lea heard a voice that sent chills up and down her spine.

'_Hey guys!'_

It was Theo. Cory removed his had quickly from the top of Lea's. He stood up and shook Theo's hand and while doing so, he felt so deceiving because he was seeing Lea behind his back.

'_Private Glee stuff going on, or can I join ya'll?'_

Lea got up and hugged him. She had a feeling in her stomach like nothing she had ever felt before. She was in the same place as the guy she was dating and the guy she was in love with. She felt like she was going to throw up.

Theo kissed her cheek and Cory had to restrain himself from knocking Theo out. He had to remember that she was still his girl.

'_So how did you know where I was if you didn't call me?'_ Lea questioned.

'_I just rang Jon. He always seems to know where you are. You guys seem to speak more than we do. I know I wasn't supposed to come back until next week but I thought I'd surprise you, so surprise!'_

Lea laughed awkwardly.

'_Yeah, it sure is a surprise. Hey um, can you give us a while? I have some script work that I need to run over with Cory. I'll meet you at your place in about half an hour?'_

'_Sure babe. See ya Cory, you look after her, okay?'_

He winked at him and Cory smiled back at him awkwardly.

As they both breathed a sigh of relief, the waitress came back out. She placed a red & blue cup of slushy on their table.

'_This is on the house. It's my little way of saying thank you for everything. Glee has changed my life!'_

Lea smiled at the waitress.

'_Thank you, Annie. That's really nice of you!'_

Lea looked at Cory. He was happy and she was about to ruin it for him.

'_Cory, I'm really falling for you but I can't give myself to you completely until I break up with Theo'_

Cory nearly spat out his slushy.

'_Are you going to do that today?'_

'_Yes, I think so. I just want to be with you so badly and Theo is the only thing stopping us'_

They both stood up and Lea kissed him with so much passion that tears started to form in her eyes.

'_I'll call you later; no doubt I'll need to relieve my tension…'_

She hugged him and went to her car. He watched as she drove off, knowing that when he saw her again that things would be a lot different.


	8. The Breakup

Lea sat parked out the front of Theo's house for what felt like a lifetime. Her mind was racing, trying to figure out what she was going to tell him.

Her phone started to vibrate, it was Jon again.

'_Theo rang you and you didn't try to tell me?'_

'_Oh hey, Jon, how ya going?'_

'_Stop it, Jon. Why didn't you call me?'_

'_I did, Lea, but you ignored my call. I didn't mean tell him where you were, it just slipped out'_

'_It's okay. Look, I have to go… I'm parked out the front of his house… '_

'_Oh my god, are you going to tell him?_

'_Y-yeah, I think so. Bye, Jon._

'_Bye sweetheart, good luck!'_

Finally, she took a deep breath, got out of her car and walked up his drive way. She knocked on his front door; her stomach starting to cramp up.

Theo opened the door.

'_Hey, babe! What's up? You want a coffee?'_

'_Of course I do, you didn't need to ask'_

'_Wow, what's wrong with you? You seem awfully insensitive today'_

Lea gave him a scolding look.

'_Don't give me that. You know that something has been wrong with me for months but you've been too busy to care or ask me about it'_

Theo handed Lea her coffee. She looked at him and was scared to speak but she knew that this was as good a time as ever.

'_Theo, we really do need to talk you know? Please don't mad at me at me for what I'm about to tell you, okay?'_

He moved in slowly to kiss her but she brushed him off

'_Just tell me then! Maybe after you tell me you might let me kiss you…'_

_That's the thing; I don't want to kiss you… I- I want to break up with you'_

He stood there, his hands starting to clench into a fist. He turned around and walked out of the kitchen, not saying a word.

Lea went to stop him but just let him go. She knew that he was angry at her.

She sat in his kitchen, sipping her coffee and waiting for him to return.

Then, he did. He looked at a photo of them both, hanging from the wall, then took it off and smashed it on the floor in front of her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her up off her chair.

'_Lea Michele Sarfati, I love you and you've broken my heart. I was going to propose to you on your birthday but I guess that is just a faded dream now…'_

'_Theo… I'm sorry. I truly am but our lives are going into two separate directions'_

Theo looked away from her and shook his head.

'_Just go, I can't bear to look at you right now'_

She left his house, her hands shaking from the thought of what just happened but then she thought of Cory and smiled. That tall, awkward, Canadian man was now all her.


	9. Road to Recovery

It had been a long, tiring and emotional afternoon for her. She looked down at her phone and the background photo that was distracting her so much. It was a photo of her and Theo. She went into her settings and deleted it. Now that he wasn't a part of her life anymore, she didn't want a reminder of the past, staring icy daggers into her soul. Instead, she found a photo of her and Cory. It was perfect… he was perfect.

Lea decided that she should move back to New York for a while to see her family. She missed her mom and dad so much and she was defiantly missing that city but she didn't want to leave Cory behind now that she had broken up with Theo. She also thought that it was time for Cory to meet her & parents. Edith and Marc had already him but Lea wanted them to meet his as the man she was falling in love with, not the man she worked with.

Cory was still sitting at the juice bar, reading the same paper for about the 5th time. Every now and then, he would look down at his phone to see if lea had called or texted him. He wanted to call her so badly but he knew that wasn't the right thing to do. He needed to let her sort this out for herself, her way. He trusted her but he didn't trust him and he was so worried that something bad was going to happen. His heart started to beat harder and faster at the thought of Theo even laying a hand on his Lea. Then, his phone rang and it was her.

'_Lea, are you okay?'_

'_Yeah, I'm fine. It was scary, but it is done… I'm free'_

'_W-was he angry about me and all?'_

'_I didn't tell him about you. I'm sorry but I just couldn't'_

'_It's okay, I get it… he probably would of came after me anyway'_

They both laughed a little

'_So, I was wondering if you would come to New York with me? I need to escape this place, its driving me insane'_

'_I'd love to come with you. I wouldn't want anything else in the world right now than to spend time with you. Which reminds me… are you free tonight? I have a little surprise for you…'_

'_Of course I am! I'll be over in a couple of hours?'_

'_Yeah sure, I can't wait._

'_Me either…'_


	10. Blame it On The Alcohol

A few hours rolled past and Lea arrived at Cory house, not knowing at all what to expect. As she walked up the footpath, Cory opened the door. He looked so amazing that she wanted to do him right then and there but she had to restrain herself.

'_Hey, you look amazing' a look of desire in her eyes_

'_Hey beautiful, I've missed not being able to hug you all day'_

He hugged her so tightly, not wanting to let go. He looked deeply into her eyes and kissed her. Kissing Lea was a lot different than kissing Rachel, and he liked it a lot better. Finally being able to kiss her anytime he wanted was the greatest thing in the world.

They both walked into the lounge room. Set up on the coffee table was a bottle of champagne with 2 glasses, some strawberries & melted chocolate.

'_Wow Cory, this is such a lovely surprise!'_

'_I bought vegan chocolate too! Are you proud of me?'_

Lea giggled at him and kissed his cheek.

'_Yes, I am! That was very considerate of you'_

They sat down together and Cory poured Lea a glass of champagne. After a couple of glasses, Lea's started to feel light headed and tipsy.

Cory dipped a strawberry in chocolate and fed it to her, then kissed the melted chocolate off her lips. She kissed him back, and it wasn't an ordinary kiss. Cory knew what kiss it was and what it was about to lead too.

He stood up and led Lea to his bedroom. Before he opened the door, he asked her to put her hands over her eyes. When he opened the door and she took her hand off her eyes, she gasped. Rose petals covered the bed and floor and heaps of candles were lit.

'_C-Cory! This is so beautiful. I can't believe you did this for me'_

_I'm glad you like it…'_

He lent in and kissed her. She started to make out with him and whilst doing so, started dragging him towards the bed. She pushed him down, sending the rose petals flying into the air.

She had a glint of lust in her eyes as she slipped her dress off over her head. She stood there in front of Cory's bed, wearing nothing but her bra and panties, specifically in blue because she knew it was his favourite colour.

'_H-holy crap, Lea… you really want to right now, don't you?'_

She nodded at him, biting her bottom lip and walking slowly towards him.

He looked at her tiny, toned body. She was alluring and he wanted her so badly. She moved onto the bed and started to pull his t-shirt off and then she unzipped his fly. By this his point, he was ready for her and she knew it. She pulled his jeans down to his ankles and he kicked them off. She started hovered above his semi naked body, looking him deeply in the eyes.

'_I love you Cory, I'm all yours…'_

He kissed up and down her arm.

'_I love you too…'_

They made love for the first time and their connection was so sensual & beautiful. He had never been with someone before that knew him so well without ever seeing him naked.

They lay in bed together, their naked bodies pressed together as they enjoyed each other's company. All of a sudden, the peace was broken by the doorbell.

'_I'll get it'_Lea got up out of bed and slipped one of Cory's Canucks jerseys over her head.

She walked to the front door and opened it. It was Theo.

'_L-Lea… what the fuck?'_

Lea just stood there, her mouth wide open as she waited for the shit that was about to hit the fan.

'_T-Theo… why are you here?_'

'_I was in the neighborhood and I noticed your car out the front. I wanted to talk to you about what happened earlier today but it seems to me that you're doing pretty well…'_

Cory walked down the stairs, wearing nothing but his jeans. He heard a commotion coming from the front door and as he got closer, he saw that it was Theo and ran to be by Lea's side.

'_Cory! What the fuck is going on, man?'_

'_Get the hell of my property! I don't want you anywhere near Lea!_'

He stood in front of her, shielding her from Theo's view.

'_Fine!'_

Theo walked down the path and out into the night. Cory turned around and hugged her tightly.

'_I'll__ always be here to protect you' _He kissed the top of her head.


	11. Meet The Parents

**A/N: Thank you all so much for you positive feedback! It really means a lot to me that you're all enjoying the story so much. Please, don't stop reviewing! ****~ Erin**

They both met up at the LAX nice and early. Their flight to New York was at 5.54am and it had just ticked over to 4:00am. Cory didn't even know that they were leaving in the morning until Lea sprung it on him, but he didn't mind.

Lea was already half way through her second cup of coffee; while on the other hand, Cory just wanted to go back to bed.

'_I just don't understand how you can be so… awake. I mean, I know you've have had nearly two cups of coffee but still…'_

'_Are you calling me weird, Mr. Monteith?'_ She giggled

'_You should know why I'm excited! I get to go to New York and see my family. And best of all, I'm doing it with you!'_

'_Haha, nah! I would never say that about you! I am also well aware of how excited you are. To tell you the truth though, I'm a little nervous. Meeting your parents as your boyfriend… I hope they approve of us being together'_

A big smile started to appear on her face. She went into kiss him but she had to be mindful of the paparazzi. She had been snapped heaps of times in the past and she didn't want her friends, family and even fans finding out about her and Cory from a bunch of photos on E news.

Soon enough they were both on the plane together. Lea was staring out the window at the clouds that were below them. Everything in her life just seemed to be clicking perfectly together. Cory looked over at her and smiled to himself. It was hard to believe that she had left another guy to be with him. He was so happy to have someone as amazing and beautiful as Lea by his side.

'_Can I ask you something?'_

Lea was awoken from her daydream by the sound of Cory's voice

'_What, sorry? I was off in another world'_

'_I just wanted to know something. When we were in New York and we went on that picnic, you told me that you had immense feelings for me for a long time. I just want to know how long a 'long' time is?'_

Lea brushed her fringe out of her face and thought to herself for a minute. She had thought about it before but never thought that Cory would ever want to know.

'_Umm well… where to start…'_

Cory sat next to her, his fingers slowly started to intertwine with hers, attentive to the next words she was going to speak.

'_When Rachel and Finn started dating, we were spending so much time together. I mean, we did shoot heaps of scenes together but these new scenes were so different. We were always so close and I was starting to become accustom to it. Although I didn't have any strong feelings for you yet, after shooting Special Education, something just didn't feel right to me. When Rachel and Finn broke up, I knew that I had feeling for you. I wasn't in as many scenes with you as I used to be and I was starting to miss it… miss you… That doesn't sound silly does it?'_

She looked up at Cory, who was smiling so brightly at her.

'_It makes complete sense, Lee and I think it's really cute too! Who knew that Lea was secretly in love with Finn!'_

Lea playfully slapped Cory on the arm.

'_Oh haha, very funny!'_

They both laughed at each other. They were having so much fun together that they didn't even realizes that they were coming into the airport. Lea looked out the window and sighed.

'_Look down there, Cory. I'm home!_' he looked over her shoulder, down to the city that she loved so much. Seeing her so happy made him happy too.

They both walked in the front door of Lea's parents' home. It was so warm and inviting. Edith greeted Lea with a big, welcoming hug.

'_Oh mom, it's so great to see you! I've missed you'_

'_Oh my baby! How I've missed you too'_ Edith pinched her daughters blushing cheeks then turned to Cory, who was standing awkwardly beside to her.

'_You come here too and give me a hug! You're the boy who has been making my Lea so happy'_ she gave Cory a big hug and kissed his cheeks.

'_Thank you Mrs. Sarfati. It's really nice of you too let us stay here'_ he put his hand out and Lea instantly reached out for it.

'_Oh my dear, call me Edith! You're family now'_

Marc walked out from the kitchen and up to Cory. He put his hand out and Marc shook it then pulled him in for a bear hug.

'_How have ya been, Cory? Looking after my girl I hope?'_

'_Of course, Sir, always' _

Cory helped Lea take their bags up stairs to their room. Cory didn't seem to feel as nervous as he first thought he would be. He had forgotten how lovely Edith and Marc were but he didn't know he could of, because they were Lea's parents and she was the sweetest person he knew. He was very much looking forward to spending the next few days with her family.

Lea took her ponytail out and started to take off her jewelry.

'_I'm just going to have a shower, okay?'_

'_Oh can I join you?'_ Cory winked suggestively at her. Lea giggled.

'_You just sit there mister and keep the bed warm!'_ she smirked.

Cory waited until she was in the bath room then stripped down to his birthday suit and snuck in.

Lea was half naked and just about to lift her top over her head, when Cory came up behind her and strategically placed his hand on her hips. She jumped a little out of surprise but then he started to kiss her neck softly and she soon forgot and the fright she had just received.

She turned the water on and led Cory into the shower. The water started too cascaded over their naked bodies and they held each other close. She rested her head on Cory's bare chest and she could feel his heart beating. He held her close to his body and caressed his fingers over the soft, velvety smooth skin of her lower back.

She felt like she was in a dream. Being so blissfully in love to such a degree was something unknown to her. She had been in love before but this was just so much different, a feeling like nothing she had never felt before.

Cory started to nibble her ear lobe, causing a soft moan to escape from her lips.

'_Feel like doing it in here?_'

Lea looked up him with her brown, lust filled eyes.

'_You know it baby…'_

He pushed her cold against the cold shower screen and kissed her with so much passion and intensity that it left her breathless, wanting more.

Making love with Cory was like a wild roller coaster of tender caresses and hard, lingering kisses and she was so engorged with raw emotions that she started to cry.

'_L- Lea! What's wrong? Did I hurt you?'_

'_Oh no, not at all' _She looked up at him, smiling and crying at the same time.

'_This just doesn't feel real. Standing in a shower, making love with Cory Monteith in my parents' bathroom'_

Cory laughed at his beautiful girlfriend as the water and her tears started to make her mascara run down her cheeks.

'_Gosh you are so gorgeous when you smile… Let's go to bed and finish off what we started'_


	12. Exploring

Lea was awoken that morning as the sun shone through the curtains and hit her face. Cory was still fast asleep from the jet lag but Lea wanted to keep her routine in order.

She went downstairs into the kitchen to find that her mother was already awake.

'_Good morning my darling, how'd you sleep?'_

Lea poured herself a big cup of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table, opposite Edith.

'_Yeah, well thank you. Um, I just wanted to ask you something… I never told you about Cory and me dating. How did you know?'_

Edith smiled at her daughter who was darting questioning stares at her.

'_Let's just call it Mother's intuition. I knew you weren't happy with Theo. Every time I flew down to see you or talked to you on the phone, as soon as that boy was mentioned, you changed the topic to either Glee or Cory. I knew that you and Cory had something special going on and you just need something to push you too together'_

Lea sipped her coffee and smiled. He mother was one hundred percent right. She was defiantly not happy with Theo, but she was happy now.

'_So my Lea, when will you be giving me some grand children?'_

Lea swallowed her mouthful of coffee as quickly as she could

'_Oh momma! I don't think that Cory and I are ready for babies. To tell you the truth, my career is keeping me so busy that it's hard enough just to look after my pets! A baby just wouldn't be right in my life right now or should I say our lives'_

Edith reached out across the table and rubbed Lea's hand. _'You would make a great mother, darling. I have no doubt in my mind'_

After Cory finally woke up, Lea took him on a tour of New York. Although they were both there not long ago, Lea wanted to show him the city through her eyes.

They went to all the great tourist destination: The Empire State Building, The Statue of Liberty and Central Park.

As they stood there cuddled up together, Lea started to giggle to herself.

'_What's so funny?' Cory questioned._

'_You have no idea where we are, do you?'_

'_Eh… Central Park?'_

'_No silly! We're standing on the Bow Bridge. Ya know… the one what Finn texts Rachel to meet him at?_'

Cory gasped in excitement and wrapped him arms around his pint sized girlfriend. He loved it when she connected things from Glee to things in real life.

It was so ironic that Lea grew up here and she played a character that had a plan to move here and make all of her dreams come true. Lea playing Rachel was like destiny, and so was her falling for him.

After Central Park, she took him to a matinee Broadway show of 'Rock of Ages'. He had so much fun and that made her very happy.

They got back to Lea's parents' place in the late afternoon. Edith had cooked them all a lovely meal. Afterwards, they sat in the lounge room around the fireplace whilst having a few glasses of wine.

Edith brought out a photo album and as soon as Lea saw it, she buried her head in Cory's lap.

'_Hah! She knows what I have'_ Edith announced as she sat down next to Cory and opened the photo album. It was full of photos' of her from her childhood.

He flipped through and laughed at all the cute photos while Lea was hiding in embarrassment. All of a sudden, he tuned the page and there was an awkward silence. There, staring right back at him was a photo of Lea and Theo.

'_Um, it's okay, I'll take it out'_ Lea grabbed the photo album off Cory and started to take it out. While she was doing so, Cory opened his backpack and pulled out his camera.

'_I have a solution'_ he announced. _'All of you sit together and I'll take a great photo to replace that one'_

They all looked at each other and smiled.

'_Great idea!'_

As they all readied themselves on the couch, Lea looked at Cory with puppy dog eyes.

'_Aww what's wrong?'_ he questioned.

'_Oh nothing… I just wanted you to be in this with us because it's kind of like a family photo…'_

Cory smiled at her. She was just too sweet for her own good.

'_It's okay, Lea. We have a whole life time to take photos' together. I promise'_.

She smiled and nodded. Cory counted down from three and then, with a big cheesy grin, they all yelled out

'_Cheese!'_


	13. Yankees

'_Are you awake yet, sleepy head?' _She yelled out, in between brushing her teeth.

He grunted as he flung the blanket off him and forced himself to get up out of bed.

He squinted his eyes then rubbed them. When he opened them, Lea was leaning against the doorway of the bathroom, wearing only a light pink tank top and a tiny pair of white panties.

'_I'm awake now…' _he announced whilst he walked up towards her. He started to lift up her tank top but she detests.

'_Oi! Cut that out… your hands are cold!' _she tried to remove his hands from her stomach but he started to tickle her. She squealed in delight as he picked her up, spinning her around and gently throwing her on the bed.

He started kissing her stomach whilst she was still laughing in glee. Then out of nowhere, he blew the biggest raspberry that he could on her bare stomach.

'_Arrr! That tickles!'_

He moved up next to her and looked into her deep brown eyes.

'_I honestly can't believe that we didn't do this sooner'_

'_I know… I still can't believe that I let myself be so unhappy for so long. I really do love you. I love you more than everyone I have ever loved before'_

He lent in and kissed her lips passionately.

'_So… where are you taking me today, Ms. Michele?'_ he said, brushing her fringe out of her eyes.

She snuck up off the bed, opened the top draw of her dresser and pulled out a hat. She placed it on her head and spun around.

'_Guess!' _she giggled. Cory looked up and the baseball cap that was proudly perched on her beautiful head.

'_E-eh… it's a Yankee's hat… W-we're going to a baseball game?'_

'_Yep! Yankee's against the Dodger's! I might even buy you ya own Yankee's cap if you behave!'_

Cory jumped up of the bed and pinched her cheeks.

'_I'd like that very much'_

They arrived at the Yankee's Stadium about 30 minutes before the game started. Lea grabbed Cory's hand and ran towards the merchandise stand. She picked out a hat for him and after she had paid for it, she walked up to him, stretched up on her tippy toes and just managed to place it on his head.

'_There ya go! You're a true New Yorker now!'_

'_Thank you so much, babe! Now I should take you to a Canucks game and buy you ya own jersey so you stop stealing mine!'_

'_Awww! That would be amazing! I've never been to an ice hockey game before…'_

Cory lent down and patted her head.

'_Well, now that you're going out with a Canadian, we'll have to change that!'_

He put his arm around her and walked toward the entrance to the ground so that they could find their seats.

'_Wow these seats are amazing! How'd you managed to get these?' _

Lea smiled at him whilst she got up out her seat.

'_I pay a lot of money for these seats! I'm a very dedicated Yankee's supporter! Will you be alright while I go and get some snacks?'_

Cory grabbed her hand and kissed the top of it.

'_I sure will!'_

15 minutes later, Lea came back with a hot dog and beer for Cory and a salad roll and water for herself.

'_You're making me look all unhealthy here with my beer and hot dog!'_

'_Haha yeah but you can't tell me that you'd rather my roll?'_

'_Yeah… your right! This hot dog does have a lot of ketchup on it though… does that count as eating a tomato?'_

Lea giggled, nearly choking on her mouthful of water.

'_My god you're a dork! Oh look, the games about to start!'_

They both looked up as the players took their spots on the pitch. The game was amazing. Cory had the biggest smile on his face the whole time and he even got to witness the Yankees hit a home run!

All of a sudden, the kiss cam came up on the jumbo screen. Everyone cheered as the camera picked an unsuspecting couple out of the crowd. They showed about 3 couples macking on for the kiss cam, and then it panned in on them. He froze as he looked at him and Lea up on the jumbo screen but before he could turn around see what she thought about it, her lips were planted on his.

He closed his eyes and kissed her back and as they opened their eyes and smiled at each other, the crowd cheered wildly.

'_Wow, that was a-amazing… I got to be on the kiss cam!'_

'_Oh I see how it is!' _She laughed _'I thought you were going to say that that kiss was amazing!'_

'_Aww!' _He lent in and pinched her cheek _'It wasn't amazing… it was epic!'_

After the game, they arrived back at Lea's parents' house. Lea helped Edith make pizzas for dinner, then after they all had eaten, the two of them went up to their room to pack for their flight back to LA tomorrow.

As she packed some of her stuff in her suit case, he just sat on the bed and stared at her. She had no makeup on and her hair was a mess but he thought that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

'_I- I love you…'_

She moved her suit case of the bed and sat down next to him, resting her head on his broad chest.

'_I love you too'_


	14. I Trust You

She was finally back in LA after a lovely time with her parents & Cory. She missed that city and her family so much already, but that was always how she felt.

She hadn't been on twitter for nearly week now and she knew that her twitter fam would be worried about her. They loved her so much.

As she scrolled threw her mentions, she started to get the feeling that it wasn't just her, Cory and her family that knew about their relationship.

A few of her fans were at the baseball game that her and Cory were at and had recorded their smooch on the kiss cam. They put it on YouTube and now all her fans were now going crazy. All the tweets were tagged with #MoncheleKiss. She laughed to herself as she scrolled down and read all the tweets. This kiss was causing an absolute twitter riot.

She had to tell Cory about this, so she texted him:

_**Hey, have you been on glitter yet? They know about our kiss & it's going crazy! Xx **_

_**Haha glitter… you're so cute! I just did. Monchele's certainly stirred up the fandom ;)**_

She absolutely loved his sense of humor; it was one of her favourite things about him because she loved to laugh.

All of a sudden, her phone rang. It was a private number but she always answered her phone in case it was someone important.

'_Hello, Lea speaking?'_

'_Lea… hey'_

Her stomach instantly started turning into knots. She knew that voice. It was Theo.

'_Umm, hi. Why are you calling me?'_

'_I saw you & Cory… kissing in public. You certainly do move on quickly, don't you?'_

She was starting to get very angry. He had no right to make her feel inferior. She wasn't his girlfriend anymore.

'_Look Theo, I didn't want to be nasty about this breakup but right now, you're making it very hard for me to keep my cool. Did you just call to piss me off or does this phone call actually have a purpose?'_

Theo paused for a minute. It was very rare that Lea got this angry, so he knew that she meant business.

'_I-I'm sorry. I just wanted to let you know that you left some of your stuff at my place and that I thought you might want back? I'll be home tomorrow afternoon if you want to come around and pick it up. I promise I won't make a big deal out of it?'_

'_Okay, I'll come by at about 3?'_

'_That's fine. I can't wait to see y-'_

Lea hung up before he could finish his sentence. She didn't want to see him but she wanted her stuff back. She just had to make it as fast as possible, like ripping off a band aid.

She breathed in and out loudly as she dialed Cory's number into her phone.

She knew he wouldn't want her to go and see Theo and neither did she, but she needed to do this. She was sure that Theo still thought he had a chance to be with her again and she had to set him straight, once and for all.

'_Hey my beautiful girl, what's up?'_

'_Hey… I'm okay. I have to do something this afternoon that I don't really want to do and I know you won't want me to do it either but I just really need to do it…'_

'_Wow, slow down there cow girl. Why wouldn't I want you to do something? Just try and calm down a bit and explain to me what going on in that pretty little head of yours?'_

'_W-well… u-umm…'_ He tongue started to tie up in knots until she just managed to blurt it out.

'_I-I'm going to see Theo this afternoon! But I'm only going to pick up my stuff and go. That's all. I promise' _

He didn't say anything for what seemed like an eternity. She started to get butterflies in her stomach & a sick panicky feeling overcome her entire body.

'_C- Cory?'_

'_Lea, it's okay. I understand. You've just got to do what ya got to do. I trust you with every inch of my heart. I wish I could hug you right now and let you know how much I love you…'_

A tear trickled down her cheek as she listened to him pour his heart out to her. She had the sweetest boyfriend ever.

'_Aww stop it. You're starting to make me cry. I'm glad you understand, thank you. It means a lot to me that you can let me do this on my own.._

_I'll call you later, after I sort all of this BS out. Oh and one more thing before I go, I think today might be the day that we tweet our twitter fam and let them know about Monchele!'_

'_Sounds good gorgeous. Good luck and remember, I'm just a phone call away'_

As she hung up her phone, she looked at the time. It was already 10 past 10. The countdown was now on until 3pm and she knew that the time was going to fly by…


	15. Would You Like a Kiss With That?

As she awoke from an afternoon nap on the couch, she picked up her phone and looked at the time. It was 2:15. The time had come to face him again.

When she arrived at his place, he was sitting out the front, reading a book. As soon as she got out of her car and started to walk towards him, he got up and did the same thing until they were face to face.

'_Hey Lee, you look nice…'_

'_Eh… thanks. Is my stuff packed or do you want me to do it?'_

'_Yeah it's packed in one of your old suitcases. Umm, do you want to come in for a coffee?'_

Everything was telling her not to go in but she didn't want to be rude since he was being so nice about this whole thing.

'_Sure, why not?'_

As she sat back in the same spot as the day she broke up with him, she didn't feel as awkward as she thought she would.

As she looked out the window and sipped her coffee slowly, he spoke to her. He walked up next to her and placed one hand on her shoulder.

'_I'd still like to see you, if that's okay? You've been such a big part of my life & I don't want to lose you…'_

What was up with him? He was being so sweet all of a sudden. Was it because he knew that he was slowly losing her?

'_Um, maybe'_ She smiled awkwardly and then is happened. He kissed her. He just leant in and planted his lips onto hers. She shrieked and quickly pushed him off.

'_What the hell? I knew this was a bad idea! I- I can't believe you would do this!' _She stormed out of the kitchen and down towards the front door, grabbing her suit case on her way out.

As she walked out of his front door for the last time, he ran after her.

'_It's been nearly a month, Theo! Don't you get it? It's over! I should have just left my stuff here!' _

She kept walking and he tried to keep up with her.

'_I thought you told me that you weren't going to make a big deal out of this?'_

'_L- Lea... I'm sorry! Please forgive me?'_

She didn't turn around as he pleaded her forgiveness, she just kept walking.

This time he didn't follower her. He just watched as the woman he loved walked out of his life forever and into a new life with another man. Although he felt heartbroken, he knew he could sleep at night because he knew she was happy.

After she threw her suit case in the back of the car, she got in the driver's seat and closer the door. She sighed loudly, like a massive weight had been shifted off her shoulders. She pulled her phone out of her handbag and tweeted all of her followers. She loved each and every one of the so much and knew that they would like to know that Monchele was finally reality


	16. Just Trying To Help

She drove straight to Cory's place after seeing Theo. She needed to see him to get reassurance that all this pain was worth it, that he still wanted this relationship to happen. She knew that this was all she had ever wanted, to have him in her life forever and she did feel better knowing that Theo would not bother her anymore. Her mind was still racing though and she didn't know why. She felt a small amount of remorse for Theo too. She had just dumped all of this on him and expected him to be okay with it and to get over her without question but there was defiantly no way that she was going to continue to speak to him after that kiss. It had completely ruined any chance of them being friends and she was sure that he knew that.

He embraced her with the warmest hug as she walked through his front door. She had never been so happy to see him. He had been waiting for her to come back to him all afternoon. He just held her. He didn't question what happen because he knew that she just wanted it to be over. All of a sudden, she just pulled away. She looked up at him, her face as white as a ghost and he bottom lip started to shake.

'_H-he kissed me. I was just sitting there sipping my coffee and he said he still wanted to be friends and then he kissed me. I pushed him off me and ran out of there and then he followed me…'_

'_He what!' _he started to get very angry. He had violated the one person in his life that completed him and he was pissed.

'_He kissed me but It's okay now…'_

'_That's not the point!' _he grabbed his keys off the kitchen bench and walked towards the front door.

'_Wait, Cory! Where are you going?' _she chased after him, grabbing his arm as he reached for the door handle.

'_I'm going to teach him a lesson. You did all the right things and he still wanted to do things the wrong way. Two can play it that game'_

She let his arm go and he walked out the door. Maybe this was his way of getting closure? She went in and sat down on the couch. She just sat there in silence; the only thing she could hear was the buzz of the refrigerator. She didn't even know what to do to keep her from thinking about what he was going to do. She felt something hard in her pocket. She stuck her hand in and pulled out her car keys. It was weird because she always put them in her handbag. Maybe this was a sign, sign to go after him and stop him from doing something that he might later regret? She got up and ran for the door, grabbing her bag on the way out.

He took a mouthful of root beer before smashing his fist violently against his front door. He heard footsteps coming towards him from the other side and then the door open.

'_C- Cory… Um, hi? Didn't expect to see you at this time…'_

He grabbed Theo by the scruff of his jumped with one hand and dragged him out onto this front lawn.

'_Right! You listen to me and you listen good! I love Lea. I love her so much that I'm willing to knock you the fuck out to prove it to her! She was trying to do the right thing by you and you kissed her! You violated her and disrespected me!'_

Theo ripped his hand off him that was still attached to his jumper.

'_She what? She tried to do the right thing by me? Bullshit! That's complete and utter bullshit! She falls in love with you, breaks up with me and just expects me to be okay with it? She takes you to her favourite place in the world, to visit her family and now you have the nerve to come on my turf and try to kick the crap outta me because I kissed her? Fuck!'_

He threw a punch out of nowhere and hit connected with the bottom of Cory's chin. He became unbalanced and fell to the ground, the bottle he was holding smashing to the pavement.

Theo knelt down over him and lifted his right arm. He took a swing but Cory rolled out of the way, causing Theo's fist to strike the ground. As he grabbed his fist with his other hand, cradling it gently, Cory punched him in the cheek.

'_Fuck' _Theo yelled.

Lea's car pulled up on the curb. She got out and she raced over to Cory.

'_W- What have you done? I never wanted any of this to happen!'_

Theo got up and lunged at Cory. Lea flung herself in front on him and he hit her shoulder. She fell to the ground and started to cry. Cory collapsed beside his injured Lea.

'_Oh no! Lea!' _he took her in his arms and rocked her gently.

'_I- I just… I just want to go home. I just came here to stop you doing something that you might regret… '_

He picked her up and put her in the passenger seat of her car. Then he walked up to Theo and put out his hand to him to help him. He took his hand and Cory pulled him up.

'_I won't bother you guys again, okay?'_

'_You better not'._


	17. Healing The Wounds

When they finally got home, he carried her up to his room and gently laid her down on the bed.

'_What are you doing?' _she questioned.

'_I'm looking after you, silly'_

She got out of bed and pushed him down. She fluffed the pillow that was awkwardly behind his head and then kissed his forehead.

'_I don't need looking after! You're the one who was in a fight, not me. Well, you know what I mean. Oh no! You're chin! It's all swollen and bruised! Now who's the one who needs to be looked after, hey?'_

She walked out of the room and then came back in a few minutes later with a cold face washer. She leant over in and placed it on his forehead.

He didn't question what she was doing. He just laid there and stared up at her, just enjoying looking into her eyes that were so full of empathy.

'_Why didn't you react?'_

'_React to what?'_

'_React to Theo punching me…'_

She looked sad and he started to get worried. He thought he had done the right thing but maybe she had wanted him to come to her recuse and knock his lights out.

'_I- I felt like I had already caused you so much pain and I thought that if I created anymore conflict, that it would just make you more upset. And there's no way in the world that I would ever want to cause you pain'_

He got up suddenly and got undressed until all he was wearing was his underwear. He lay back down and then she did the same thing.

She laid down on the bed and cuddled up next to him, their semi naked bodies pressed together as he pulled the blankets over them and went to sleep.

She woke up early and went and stood at the bedroom window. As she stared outside, admiring the beauty that the day had brought them, Cory woke up and gasped.

'_Lea! Your shoulder! Isn't it sore?'_

She turned around and looked at him; a puzzled look overcame her face. She clearly had no idea what he was talking about.

'_Umm no…'_

He got up and gently rubbed the back of her shoulder.

'_Ouch! Is it bruised?'_

'_Yeah and it's really bad. All purple and blotchy'_

He turned her around and moved her back towards the bed.

'_Come back to bed and snuggle with me. I promise that I'll make it feel better'_

She bit her bottom lip playfully, jumped back on the bed and nuzzled back into him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close.

'_And just for the record, I would I totally kicked his ass'_

She giggled at his lame joke and then he started to laugh too.

An hour or so later, Lea opened her eyes and saw that Cory was already up and getting dressed.

'_I'm going to get my car from Theo's. I don't want you to come because if he sees you, he might cause a scene and after last night, I don't need it'_

He lent in and kissed her forehead and tucked her in.

'_I hope you weren't trying to sneak off while I was asleep?' _she asked as he went to grab his keys from the night stand.

'_I would never do that too you. I would have just woken you up to tell you.'_

He left her as he went out to retrieve his car. She got up and made herself a coffee and decided to call Jonathan. She was actually quite surprised that she hadn't spoken to him for so long, since they usually spoke nearly every day.

He didn't answer his phone so she left a message.

'_Hey gorgeous, just ringing because we haven't spoken in like, forever! I miss your voice. I want to go out for dinner soon, to celebrate me and Cory. I won't take up all the room on your machine by giving you the whole story but to cut it short, Cory and Theo kind of had a tussle last night. It was intense! Ring me back as soon as you get this message! Love you!'_

She got back into bed, snuggled up and sipped her coffee.

Meanwhile, out the front of Theo's house, Cory paid the cab driver and then walked up to his car. He looked over at his house and there was no sign that he was awake yet, which was a relief. As soon as he went to open his car door, Theo's front door opened. Cory quickly got into his car and started it up.

He looked up and Theo was running toward his car. Cory turned off the ignition and put down the window.

'_Cory, hey. Where is she? Is she okay?'_

'_No offence man, but it's none of your business. You should actually be thanking her ya know! If she didn't turn up when she did, your face would be a lot worse than what it is now. And don't for a second think that because I helped you up, that everything is cool, because it's not. I did it for Lea.'_

'_So, did you come to my house to fight me for Lea too? Because I'm sure that she wouldn't have been so impressed with you afterwards'_

'_I was angry after she told me that you kissed her. And to be honest, she was in the back of my mind when I was driving here. I was only thinking about how good it was going to feel to put my fist through your face. I don't even know why I feel like I have to give you an explanation…'_

He gave Theo a menacing stare, started the car again, put up the window and drove off. He looked into the rear view mirror and saw him waving his arms around and yelling out profanities at his car. If it was anyone else, he would have stopped and given them a piece of his mind but in the back of his mind, he had Lea telling him to keep on driving back home to her. Back to where life was perfect and she was waiting for him.


	18. Night Out

She was still cuddled up in bed by the time he came back home. It was just so nice to lie in bed and do nothing. All of a sudden, she herd heard her phone ringing from amongst her bed sheets. She fumbled through the sheets until she found her phone under her pillow.

_'Hello?'_

_'Lea, sweetheart!'_

_'Awww hey darling! Did you get my message? I hope I can see you tonight. I miss you so much!'_

_'You know that I can't say no to you! And besides, you need to tell me about the whole Cory and Theo thing that you were talking about! Where and when, beautiful?'_

_'Umm, 7:30 at Shojin? It's on Alameda St.'_

_'I'll see you there! Can't wait to see your gorgeous face!'_

Cory ran in the room and jumped on the bed.

_'Everything okay?'_

_'Oh yes! I'm just organising a little dinner get together! To celebrate, us, you know? Because we've been through so much just to get here and I think we need to celebrate how far we have come'_

He crawled over to her from the other side of the bed and took her in his arms.

_'You are just so beautiful and thoughtful' He kissed her forehead 'Is anyone else coming? Because I'm pretty sure that you've already asked Jonathan'_

_'You know me to well! I was just on the phone to him before. I need to ring Di now. I know she'd be up for a catch up. We're going to a vegan restaurant, I hope you don't mind? I can change it if you want to go somewhere else?'_

_'Oh no! I could never ask you do that. I'm into eating new stuff anyway. I want to experience what you do. I dunno, does that even make sense?'_

She raised her eye brown and tilted her head slightly. Her smile beamed from ear to ear.

_'I have no idea what I've done to deserve such a beautiful man in my life'_

_'You didn't have to do anything. You were just being yourself… That's all it took for me to fall for you'_

She squealing softly in excitement and planted a big kiss on the side of his neck.

_'I'm going to ring Dianna now. Tonight is going to be so fun, I just know it!'_

She fiddled nervously with her napkin as she waited for the others to arrive.

_'Why are you so nervous? It's just Jonathan and Di. Do you want me to get you something to drink or?'_

_'Eh, yes, please. I'm sorry… I don't even know how to explain why I'm feeling like this. I think that I won't know how to act around them with you, ya know? They haven't seen us as a couple yet and I'm a bit worried that we might gross them out with our cuddling and stuff…'_

_'It's okay. Funnily enough, I completely understand how you are feeling. I'm kind of a bit nervous about this dinner too, but we have to remember that they are our friends. I know that they'll understand that we can't keep our hands off each other! And even if they don't, it's not going to stop me…'_

He took his hand and moved it underneath the table and then gently rubbed his hand up the side of her thigh. He looked up at her as she bit her bottom lip, her cheeks starting to turn a soft shade of red.  
>She put her hand underneath the table as well and reached for his hand, moving it up higher. His eyes widened as she moved his hand up and underneath her dress.<p>

She leant over and whispered in his ear _'I'm wearing a thong because I know that you think my ass looks amazing in them…'_

Cory awkwardly coughed and choked at the same time. He couldn't believe that she had gone from nervous wreck to horny minx in a space of 2 minutes.

Dianna strolled through the restaurant, her eyes darting around the restaurant and until her eyes met with Cory's. She ran over to their table, awkwardly in her high heels.

_'Hey you two! Stop playing hooky under the table and come and give me some lovin'!_

_'Busted!'_ Jonathan yelled as he walked towards their table as well.

Lea and Cory pulled their hands up from under the table, their faces glowing red from embarrassment.  
>Lea jumped up from her seat, ran over and planted a big kiss on Dianna's cheek, then hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear <em>'I can't believe you knew what we were doing!'<em>

_'Oh Lee! I might be blonde, but I'm a lot smarter than you think!' she hugged her back even tighter._'

She then ran over to Jonathan, who was talking to Cory at the bar. She jumped up on him, wrapping her legs around his waist.

_'Oh I've missed you so much that it isn't funny!'_ She nuzzled her face in to his neck as he laughed.

_'And I've missed you too, my Broadway baby'_

They all enjoyed a great meal together, talking about their trip to New York and the Theo incident. Lea and Dianna had had a few wines and were giggling like little school girls.

_'Hey… Lee… we should go clubbing now! I am so up for a party!'_

Lea looked over at Cory and he gave her a reassuring nod.

'Sure! Why not! I don't even remember that last that I've been out to a club'


	19. Dancing Queens

She hardly ever went out, but dancing with Dianna was some of the best fun that she'd ever had.

She twirled around the dance floor, Dianna's hand tightly intertwined with hers, giggling as Dianna made goofy faces at her. She stopped and pointed over to the bar. Jon and Cory were standing there, leaning against the bar, Cory holding two skinny girl margaritas.

They ran over to them, still holding hands.

'You guys look like you're working up a sweat on that dance floor!' Cory exclaimed whilst handing Lea her drink.

She stumbled over to him and clumsily placed her head on his chest. He looked down at her and smiled, kissing her forehead while she fumbled the straw with her lips, trying to take a sip of her drink.

'How are you feeling? You've had a bit to drink already…' Dianna slowly walked over to them, swaying slightly from side to side.

'Oh… She's fine! Imma take her back dancing now… Come on Lee Lee… I want to twirl you around again!'

Cory watched as the less drunk girl took the drunker girl but to the dance floor. He turned to Jon who was looking over at the girls, laughing to himself as Dianna attempted to moonwalk. Cory had a slightly worried look on his face as looked over at his drunken girlfriend.

'She's okay, Cory. This is just what she needed after everything you guys have been through. She's very lucky to have such a supportive friend like Dianna'

'Yeah… I know… I should say the same thing to you. You've always been there for her in ways that I can't. I mean, I know she tells me everything, but it's good to know that there is always someone to look after her if I can't. For whatever reason that may be'

Jon placed his hand on his shoulder and smiled 'You're right. I love her a lot. There is no one quite like our Lea. So driven and determined yet so bubbly and full of life. She is defiantly one in a kind.'

All of a sudden, Lea fell down onto the dance floor. Her heel breaking from her shoes as he ankle twisted painfully.

'Arrrgh! My ankle!' Cory ran over to her and scooped her up off the ground.

'I think it's home time for you, dancing queen. We need to get some ice on that ankle, stat. You too, Di, come on! We'll drop you off on the way.'

The cub pulled up out the front of Lea's apartment. He had to wake her up because she had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

'Will you be okay Jon?'

'Yeah, I'll be fine. You take Lee up to bed and I'll make sure Di gets home safe and sound.' Cory smiled thankfully at Jon as he closed the door and then tapped the top of the cab.

They finally got to her door and Cory awkwardly swirled his hand around in her hand bag, trying to find her key. When he finally found it, he opened it and carried her straight to the bedroom. He took of her shoes gently; trying hard not to aggravate her swallow ankle, then undressed her and put her in her pyjamas.

As he got in to bed after her had tucked her in, he leant over and kissed her forehead, then switched off the lamp on the bed side table.


End file.
